I would like to say 3.5 yr old+, but I know if I have a decent 2.5yr old come into shooting range I will not be able to restrain myself. I will be perfectly happy with what ever I kill. I think that some people have the idea that there are world class whitetails everywhere so they wait out for them and never shoot anything. And the ones that do get lucky now and then do not shoot anything near as often as someone who doesn't have as high as standards, but Im not saying that there is anything wrong with that. Do whatever keeps you satisfied.

2 points on 1 side, club rules. That's why i wrapped up my5 week bow season killing 5 bucks, more than most people on here kill in 5 years...

Brown


No really brown with a white belly. I set no standards I shoot it is becuase I wanted to and it makes me happy. That what its all about.

I also have the lower standards of a typical public woods hunter. I will try to hold out for 2.5, 8 or better, about to the ears. My goal is to kill at least one doe every year as well.

Depends. Im after a "nice" buck this year...not a monster.

I shoot whatever the heck makes me happy. DUH!

Bigger than this guy, he's down.



Here's a trailcam photo from the day I killed him.

I will pass on to you what I was told. When you first start bowhunting. Shoot any legal animal that presents itself. This will build confidence in yourself and your bow. In time you will find your pace. When the "Right Buck" steps out, you will be ready. The shots you made on does and spikes, and what you learned from them will prepare you. Just what I was told.

My personal standards (I judge myself against noone) have slowly changed over the years from just shooting my first buck, to shooting for 4-5 pointers, to shooting 6-8 pointers, and now I am gradually seeking my first 3.5 year old buck (never have shot a mature buck). This change has occured over the course of the last 17 hunting seasons. My desire is to shoot a mature buck if possible, if not at least a respectable 7 point or above. I am sort of glad I didn't come blazing out of the gates in my hunting "career", seeking Pope and Young Bucks or bust my first season, and passing "little" bucks because everyone else was a trophy hunter. In fact, only a handful of those bucks exist where I hunt.

8 point or better.